Real Madrid ‘aware’ Liverpool want €150m ‘incredible kid’ with ‘tremendous potential’ – top source

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·24 de noviembre de 2025

Real Madrid ‘aware’ Liverpool want €150m ‘incredible kid’ with ‘tremendous potential’ – top source

Real Madrid are ‘aware’ that Liverpool would love to sign Joan Martinez and take him to Anfield, according to a very reliable source in Spain, as Los Blancos’ stance on parting ways with their star young player comes to light.

The tussle between Real Madrid and Liverpool over Ibrahima Konate has been well-documented. While Liverpool have offered Konate a new contract to extend his stay at Anfield beyond the end of the season, Madrid are keen on snapping up the France international central defender as a free agent next summer.

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It has now emerged in the Spanish media that Liverpool and Madrid are in a battle over Joan Martinez, too.

Marca, the number one source for Real Madrid scoop, has reported that Liverpool are among the clubs keen on a deal for Martinez, whom it has described as ‘one of Real Madrid’s crown jewels’ and who is one of the best players in the Spanish club’s youth academy.

Scouts from Liverpool, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund were present at the UEFA Youth League match between the Reds and Real Madrid at the Liverpool FC Academy Training Ground on November 4.

Madrid won the Under-19 game 4-0, but Martinez was not in the team.

According to Marca, Martinez had played for Real Madrid Castilla the previous Sunday, and with little recovery time between the two games, he was dropped from the Youth League squad.

‘The surprise was immense’ among the scouts when they realised that the youngster that they had come to watch had not even travelled, according to the report in the respected Spanish publication.

Marca has added that while ‘Real Madrid have long been aware of the interest from numerous clubs in signing Joan Martinez’, they are ‘calm’ and ‘confident’ after securing their prized young talent since he signed his new contract last September’.

Martinez has a release clause of €150million (£132.1m, $173m) in his contract at Madrid, and while Los Blancos will not expect any team to pay the fee, such a ‘figure forces any interested club to enter negotiations’.

Madrid first-team manager Xabi Alonso is said to be following the progress of Martinez closely and plans to use him when he is fully ready to take the step up.

What has been said about Joan Martinez

While Martinez has yet to make his competitive first-team debut for Real Madrid, his name is well-known among those connected with the Spanish and European giants.

When the teenager made his first-team debut for Madrid against AC Milan in Chicago in August 2024, he was just 16 years of age.

Carlo Ancelotti was then in charge of Madrid, and the Italian legend noted at the time: “Joan has potential.

“He’s very young, but he has everything a centre-back needs: good on the ball and very attentive to detail.

“He could have a big future at Real Madrid. So far, our youth academy have done a terrific job with him because he’s extremely good.”

Lucas Vazquez played with Martinez in that game, and the former Real Madrid star, who is now at Bayer Leverkusen, said, as quoted in ESPN: “I wasn’t at that level when I was 16.

“He’s an incredible kid. He produced a very good game today. This is a centre-back with tremendous potential and we’re all going to try to help him so he continues to develop.”

Martinez subsequently injured cruciate knee ligaments and spent a year on the sidelines, but he is back to full fitness now.

However, Real Madrid B manager Alvaro Arbeloa, who won LaLiga once and the Champions League twice with the first team as a player, is not entirely happy with how Martinez has been playing for the Castilla.

ESPN quoted Arbeloa as saying about Martinez after Real Madrid Castilla beat CP Cacereno 2-0 earlier this month: “[Martinez] is a very talented young man, but he has a long way to go.

“To begin with, he needs to train much harder than he is now, with much more focus and intensity.

“If he wants to be a Real Madrid player, he needs to understand that the demands of that position are extremely high.

“What he’s doing now isn’t enough to turn him into a first-team player, and until he realises that, he’ll obviously be a good player for Castilla, but the top level is a different story.

“We’re working on making him understand that he has to be professional and train at his maximum every day.

“That’s where he needs to make a big leap forward to become a Real Madrid player, because he has the talent, the technique, the physical conditions and the mentality … but what he’s doing right now just isn’t sufficient.”